Quebec Notarial Records (Drouin Collection), 1647-1942

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Most of these records are in the French language but there are also records in EnglishFor best results, you should first search using French words and location spellings. If you do not find what you are looking for, try using English.

About Quebec Notarial Records (Drouin Collection), 1647-1942

In the 1940s the Institut Généalogique Drouin began microfilming records pertaining to French Canadians throughout French Canada and America. Consequently, this filmed set of records has become known as the Drouin Collection.

Areas Included:

The entire Drouin Collection contains vital, notarial, and other miscellaneous records from Quebec, as well as French Catholic parish records from Ontario, Acadia, and the U.S. This database only contains the Quebec notarial records.

Record Types:

Notaries were required to provide two guides for locating their acts – the repertoire and the index. The repertoire was a catalog organized by date, the number of the act, and a short description of it. The index was a table organized by year and the first letter of the surname. In the index one could find the act number, the parties involved, and the type of notarial act.*

There are many kinds of notarial records. Some notarial acts include:

Marriage contracts

Wills

Deeds

Inventories

Agreements and settlements

Transfers of property or money

Donations

Legal documents

This database does not contain the actual notarial acts. Instead, it contains the repertories and in some cases, the indexes, compiled by the various notaries as explained above. Therefore, the records in this database are organized according to notary name.

Language of the Records:

The majority of the records are written in French, but some are written in English, Latin, or Italian.

Why Research Notarial Records:

Besides providing genealogical information (name, occupations, relationships, places of birth), notarial records can provide many details about the lives of the ancestors and show them as an active part of the community. Notarial records can also provide a picture of the social and economic world in which these people lived and worked. In spite of the inherent difficulties, notarial records are one of the richest sources of information for French-Canadian researchers.*

Although the information available in the repertories and indexes won’t provide you the details of an actual notarial record, it will help you in locating the original act. Millions of notarial records are located in several regional archives in Canada. Some records may also be available on microfilm through the Family History Library.*

*Taken from Geyh, Patricia Keeney, "Civil Registration in the Province of Quebec" in French Canadian Sources: A Guide for Genealogists, (Orem, UT, USA: Ancestry, 2002).

Browse Individual Records in this Title

Related data collections

Until the late 1900s, church registers in Quebec served as civil and vital records in that province. Throughout the years a second copy of church records, from all denominations, was sent annually to the appropriate courthouse. During the 1940s the vital record collections in courthouses throughout Quebec were filmed by the Institut Généalogique Drouin.* The filming of vital records continued for some areas up through the 1960s. Consequently, this filmed set of records became known as the Drouin Collection. The majority of the records in this database cover the time period 1621-1947, as most of the filming was done in the 1940s. The records that were filmed up through the 1960s are also included in this database, although they are very few in number. These records that were filmed later cover the years 1948-1967. Names from all years have now been indexed and can be searched on using the search box above.

This database contains Catholic church records from Ontario filmed by the Institut Généalogique Drouin. The majority of the records included are baptisms, marriages, and burials, but other record types are also included. Most of the records are written in French, but some records may be written in English, Latin, or Italian.

This database contains French Catholic church records from the U.S. filmed by the Institut Généalogique Drouin. The majority of the records included are baptisms, marriages, and burials, but other record types are also included. Most of the records are written in French, but some records may be written in English, Latin, or Italian.

This database contains Catholic church records and other vital record from Acadia filmed by the Institut Généalogique Drouin. The majority of the records included are baptisms, marriages, and burials, but other record types are also included. Most of the records are written in French, but some records may be written in English, Latin, or Italian.

This database contains miscellaneous French records from French Canada and America filmed by the Institut Généalogique Drouin. Some record types contained in this database includes family genealogies/histories, journals, letters, catalogues, and topographic dictionaries. Most of the records are written in French, but some records may be written in English, Latin, or Italian.All Birth, Marriage & Death, including Parish in the Card Catalogue